The Year in Photos

As shot by Bloomberg photojournalists, from Washington to the campaign trail.

Republicans took over the Senate, the president cut loose, and protests roiled the nation. Here are snapshots from the year in American politics.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

139

Obama speaks on economy

President Barack Obama pauses while speaking in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 7, 2014. Obama said extending emergency unemployment insurance will give a “vital economic lifeline” to millions of people still grappling with the aftermath of the worst recession since the 1930s.

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

239

A light moment for Biden

Vice President Joe Biden laughs during an event for the Council on Women and Girls in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Jan 22, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

339

State of the Union

U.S. Secret Service officers stand in front of the White House in Washington on Jan. 27, 2014, one day ahead of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

439

Thumbs-up

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, center, gestures before President Barack Obama, not pictured, delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2014.

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

539

Oops

Representative Janice Hahn, a Democrat from California, wipes her lipstick from the cheek of Vice President Joe Biden as he arrives for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

639

Buddy comity

Vice President Joe Biden, left, holds onto House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, as President Barack Obama, not pictured, delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 28, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

739

Budget time

Copies of President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2015 budget are wheeled to the Senate Budget Committee office in Washington on March 4, 2014.

Lew in the hot seat

Jacob Lew, U.S. Treasury secretary, listens during a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington on March 5, 2014.

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

1039

Game faces

Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, center, and Charles Evans, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, right, hold welding masks over their eyes during a demonstration in the manufacturing lab at Daley College in Chicago on March 31, 2014.

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

1139

GM under fire

Mary Barra, chief executive officer of General Motors Co., left, arrives to testify at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington on April 1, 2014. Barra said GM had retained Kenneth Feinberg as a consultant to explore options for families of accident victims whose vehicles were being recalled for possible ignition-switch defects.

Photographer Pete Marovich/Boomberg

1239

The fight against Keystone

The Cowboy and Indian Alliance marches with rock icon Neil Young, center, and actress and environmentalist Daryl Hannah, second from right, to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington on April 26, 2014. The group, along with leaders from Native American tribes like the Dene, Cree and Metis Peoples, presented a teepee to the museum to deliver to President Barack Obama in protest of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

1339

Climate-change gambit

The U.S. Capitol Building stands beyond the natural gas- and coal-fueled Capitol Power Plant, which provides heating and cooling throughout the 23 facilities on Capitol Hill, in Washington on June 1, 2014. President Barack Obama was set to propose cutting greenhouse-gas emissions from the nation's power plants by an average of 30 percent from 2005 levels, a key part of his plan to fight climate change that also carries political risks.

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

1439

Happy warriors

Code Pink activists hold up signs in support of a proposed constitutional amendment on campaign finance during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on June 3, 2014

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

1539

Contraceptive ruling

Activists on both sides of the contraceptive debate demonstrate outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on June 30, 2014. The Supreme Court dealt a blow to President Barack Obama's health-care law, ruling that closely held companies can claim a religious exemption from the requirement that they offer birth-control coverage in their worker health plans.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

1639

Yellen's plan

Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, arrives to a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington on July 15, 2014. Yellen told lawmakers the central bank must press on with monetary stimulus as “significant slack” remains in labor markets and inflation is still below the Fed's goal.

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

1739

The jet-setter

Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to testify before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington on Sept. 17, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

1839

Throwback

Hank Paulson, chairman and founder of the Paulson Institute and former U.S. Treasury secretary, center, arrives to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington on Oct. 6, 2014.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

1939

Clinton on the trail

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, and Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes acknowledge the crowd at a campaign event in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 15, 2014.

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

2039

Ernst goes for the gold

Iowa Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst, center, arrives in the early hours of the morning for a campaign stop at a Casey's gas station in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on Nov. 4, 2014.

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

2139

Election Day

Election official Donna Corliss holds “I Voted Today” stickers as she works at a precinct at the Red Oak Fire Department in Red Oak, Iowa, on Nov. 4, 2014.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

2239

Election Day

Voter Adam Hensley casts his ballot at a polling station at Fugate's Bowling Alley in Hazard, Ky., on Nov. 4, 2014.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

2339

The new majority

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, waves to supporters alongside his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, at a Republican Party of Kentucky election night party in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 4, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

2439

Victory lap

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, smiles while arriving to a news conference in Washington on Nov. 6, 2014, after his party won at least 245 House of Representatives seats in that week's elections, giving Republicans their largest majority since World War II.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

2539

Immigration debate simmers

Jose Cruz wears a U.S. flag during a demonstration in favor of immigration reform outside of the White House in Washington on Nov. 7, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

2639

The waiting game

Intern Emilie Pollack rolls up a Hillary Clinton poster for a customer's order at the Ready For Hillary PAC headquarters store in Arlington, Va., on Nov. 12, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

2739

Fresh faces

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, looks on as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, speaks during a news conference following a private meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 13, 2014. Senate Democrats moved to elevate Warren, a first-term senator, to their leadership ranks on an expanded communications and policy committee led by third-ranking Democrat Charles Schumer.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

2839

Say cheese

Representatives-elect stand for a class photo on the House side of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 18, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

2939

Overtime

Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat from Louisiana, listens during a news conference following a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 18, 2014, ahead of her runoff election. The Senate refused to approve TransCanada Corp.'s $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline after years of a political fight over jobs, climate change and energy security.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3039

Pick a number

Representative-elect Gwen Graham supporter Paul Woodward performs a back flip for luck before Graham picks a number during a member-elect room lottery draw on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 19, 2014. Freshmen lawmakers draw numbers that dictate the order in which they can choose among the empty office spaces passed over by more senior lawmakers.

Photographer: Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

3139

Getting grilled

Hiroshi Shimizu, senior vice president of global quality assurance at Takata Corp., waits for the start of a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on defects with the company's airbags in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. The world's biggest automakers had fixed a fraction of almost 8 million cars recalled for Takata Corp. air bags, providing fuel for the Senate committee grilling the industry for its handling of the crisis.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3239

Hagel departs

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, center, smiles after speaking during his resignation announcement with President Barack Obama in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on Nov. 24, 2014. Hagel stepped down from his post after 21 months in office amid tension with the White House over policy and how it's presented to the public.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3339

Set list

Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington state, stands on a speaker list during a news conference after a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 2, 2014. House Republicans were looking for ways to both keep the government running past Dec. 11 and also send a strong message to President Barack Obama that they reject his authority to stop deporting some undocumented immigrants.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3439

Royal visit

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, left, and President Barack Obama meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Dec. 8, 2014. Obama welcomed Prince William for his first visit to the White House to thank the Duke of Cambridge for the British royal family's hospitality during presidential visits to the U.K. and to underscore “the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” the White House said in announcing the visit.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3539

Way to go

President Barack Obama fist-bumps middle-school student Adrianna Mitchell while participating in an “Hour of Code” event in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Dec. 8, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3639

Farewell, Colbert

President Barack Obama, left, speaks with television personality Stephen Colbert during a taping of one of the final episodes of Comedy Central's “The Colbert Report” at George Washington University in Washington on Dec. 8, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3739

Waning power

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, speaks during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 9, 2014.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3839

Hands up

Lawmakers and congressional staffers raise their hands on the House side of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 11, 2014, including Representative Marc Veasey, a Democrat from Texas, front row left, and Senate Chaplain Barry Black, front row fourth from left. The event was to protest grand juries' decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of black men in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

3939

The Cruz factor

Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, talks to members of the media while walking through the U.S. Capitol basement in Washington on Dec. 12, 2014. The Senate was poised to take up a $1.1 trillion U.S. government spending bill opposed by two senators who agree on almost nothing—Cruz and Democrat Elizabeth Warren.